Jean-Pierre Aumont  

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Jean-Pierre Aumont (5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Aumont was born in Paris as Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons to Alexandre Salomons, owner of La Maison du Blanc (a linen department store) and Suzanne Cahen. His mother's uncle was well-known stage actor Georges Berr. His father, whose family came from Holland, was Jewish and his mother also came from a Jewish family. Aumont began studying drama at the Paris Conservatory, following his mother, at the age of sixteen. His professional stage debut occurred at the age of 21. His film debut came one year later, when Jean de la Lune (Jean of the Moon) was produced in 1931.

Career

However, his most important, career-defining role came in 1934, when Jean Cocteau's play La Machine Infernale (The Infernal Machine) was released. When his film and stage career began rising quickly, World War II broke out. Aumont stayed in France until 1942, when he realized that because of his Jewish ancestry, he would be forced to flee from the Nazi forces. He first fled to an unoccupied portion of Vichy territory, before moving, first to New York City, then to Hollywood to further his film career.

He began working with MGM, however, he was not content while his fellow countrymen were fighting for their lives in Europe. After finishing the film, The Cross of Lorraine, he joined the Free French Forces.

Aumont was sent to North Africa, where he participated in Operation Torch in Tunisia. Then, he moved with the Allied armies through Italy and France. Through the war, he was wounded twice. The first was on a mission with his brother. However, the second was more serious. Aumont's Jeep was blown up near a landmined bridge, and French General Diégo Brosset, commander of the 1st Free French Division, was killed. Because of his bravery during the fighting, Aumont received the Legion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre. Aumont continued working, starring as the magician in Lili with the then-ingenue Leslie Caron.

Aumont continued working with various famous actors and directors. In the mid-1950s he appeared as a guest on the television show What's My Line? In the 1960s and 70s he appearted in various Broadway productions, including Gigi. One of his last acting performances was in A Tale of Two Cities (1989). Two years later, he was decorated with the cross of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, and in 1992, he received an honorary César Award.

Personal life

While in Hollywood, Aumont married Maria Montez, a Dominican actress. She was known as the Queen of Technicolor, and their marriage was very happy; however, she tragically drowned on 7 September 1951, in the family's villa at Suresnes, France. They had one daughter, Tina Aumont (1946 - 2006). In 1956, he married Italian actress Marisa Pavan, star of various films including The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit. The couple starred in one film together John Paul Jones, where Pavan played the romantic interest of the lead, while Aumont cameoed as King Louis XVI. They had two children: Jean-Claude and Patrick, and six grandchildren: Adrien, Lola, Misha, Ariane, Arthur, and Anouk.

He died in 2001 of a heart attack at the age of 90, and was cremated.

Selected filmography

[[File:Jean-Pierre Aumont Cannes nineties.jpg|thumb|Aumont at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.]]

Year Title Role Director
1931 Échec et mat Jacque Roger Goupillières
1933 Dans les rues Jacques Victor Trivas
1937 Bizarre, Bizarre Billy Marcel Carné
1938 Hôtel du Nord Pierre Marcel Carné
1943 Assignment in Brittany Bertrand Corlay/Capt. Pierre Matard (as Pierre Aumont) Jack Conway
1943 The Cross of Lorraine Paul Dupré (as Jean Pierre Aumont) Tay Garnett
1946 Heartbeat Pierre de Roche (as Jean Pierre Aumont) Sam Wood
1947 Song of Scheherazade Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Walter Reisch
1948 Affairs of a Rogue Prince Leopold Alberto Cavalcanti
1949 Siren of Atlantis Andre St. Avit Gregg G. Tallas
Golden Arrow Andre Marchand Gordon Parry
1951 La Vendetta del corsaro Enrico di Roccabruna Primo Zeglio
The Straw Lover Stanislas Michodier Gilles Grangier
1952 Moineaux of Paris Césarin Maurice Cloche
Wolves Hunt at Night Cyril Bernard Borderie
1953 Lili Marc (as Jean Pierre Aumont) Charles Walters
1954 Charge of the Lancers Capt. Eric Evoir William Castle
Royal Affairs in Versailles Cardinal de Rohan Sacha Guitry
1955 Napoléon Régnault de Saint-Jean d'Angély Sacha Guitry
1956 Hilda Crane Prof. Jacques De Lisle Philip Dunne
1957 The Seventh Sin Paul Duvelle Ronald Neame
1959 John Paul Jones King Louis XVI of France John Farrow
1961 Le Puits aux trois vérités a spectator at the vernissage François Villiers
The Blonde from Buenos Aires the Actor George Cahan
The Devil at 4 O'Clock Jacques (as Jean Pierre Aumont) Mervyn LeRoy
1962 The Seven Deadly Sins the husband (episode "L'Orgueuil") Roger Vadim (episode)
Five Miles to Midnight Alan Stewart Anatole Litvak
1969 Castle Keep the Count of Maldorais Sydney Pollack
1973 Day for Night Alexandre François Truffaut
1974 Two Missionaries Monsignor Delgado Franco Rossi
1975 The Happy Hooker Yves St Jacques Nicholas Sgarro
Cat and Mouse Monsieur Richard Claude Lelouch
Mahogany Christian Rosetti Berry Gordy
1978 Two Solitudes Jean-Claude Tallard Lionel Chetwynd
1979 Something Short of Paradise Jean-Fidel Milieu David Helpern
1982 Nana Count Muffat Dan Wolman
1984 The Blood of Others Monsieur Blomart Claude Chabrol
1986 Sweet Country Mr. Araya Michael Cacoyannis
1994 Giorgino Sebastien Laurent Boutonnat
1995 Jefferson in Paris D'Hancarville James Ivory
1996 The Proprietor Franz Legendre Ismail Merchant




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Jean-Pierre Aumont" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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